The Leasowes

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View from the ruins of Halesowen Priory to The Leasowes (at the top of the range of hills on the right). The picture shows the house as it was during William Shenstone's lifetime .

The Leasowes is a 57 hectare estate and country house in Halesowen , which was originally in the English county of Shropshire . Today it is part of the West Midlands County . English Heritage has the parkland listed as Grade I Park on the Register of Parks and Gardens . The Halesowen Golf Club is also located there . The name "The Leasowes" means "Raues Pasture" in German.

Shenstone (1743–1763)

The house during William Shenstone's lifetime

The garden, an ornamental farm , laid out by the poet William Shenstone between 1743 and 1763 , is one of the most admired examples of the English landscape garden . Its importance lies in its simplicity and uncompromising peasant appearance. Thomas Whately praises him in Chapter LII of his Observations on Modern Gardening of 1770:

“The ideas of 'pastoral poetry' now seem to be the standard of this simplicity; and a farm in its utmost purity is believed to be a place that can be transformed into it. An impression of this was obviously incorporated into the design of 'The Leasowes', where it appears so lovely that it makes the memory of its designer dear and confirms the reputation of Mr Shenstone (...) every part is rural and natural. It is literally a pasture farm that has been laid out around the house, and a path as unadorned and as unadorned as an ordinary dirt road is led through various fencing. "

After this passage, Whately goes into every detail of the park.

Horne (1763–1789)

The Leasowes around 1776. This engraving shows a small country house built in 1776 for Edward Horne. Horne had Shenstone's house demolished and a small country house built on the same site.

Shenstone died in 1763. The house and estate were bought by Edward Horne , who had Shenstone's house demolished and a new one built on the same site, which was completed around 1776. He also had an enclosed garden and a heated greenhouse built.

Visit from Adams and Jefferson

The polymath Thomas Jefferson , who later became the third President of the United States , visited The Leasowes (then in the hands of Edward Horne) on his tour of English gardens in April 1786 , letting Whately's treatise guide him every step of the way. He was accompanied by his close friend and future second President of the United States, John Adams .

Adams wrote in his diary:

“ Stowe House , Hagley Hall and Blenheim Palace are superb; Woburn Abbey , Caversham Park and The Leasowes are all wonderful. Wotton House is both grand and elegant, if neglected. (...) Shenstones Leasowes is the simplest and simplest, but also the most rustic of them all. I have never seen such a small spot on which such a variety of beauties was shown. "

Jefferson's more engaging and questioning records in his Notes of a Tour of English Gardens provide some additional background information:

"Leasowes. In Shropshire. Today owned by Mr. Horne by purchase. 150. as. Within the way. The bodies of water are small. This isn't even an ornamental farm. It's just a pasture farm with a footpath around it. Here and there a seat made of boards, hardly anything better. Architecture didn't contribute anything. The obelisk is made of bricks . Shenstone was only £ 300 a year and ruined himself with what he did to this farm. It is said that he died from the worries that caused him his debt. The part next to the road is red earth, the earth in the other parts is gray. The first and second cascades are beautiful. The landscape at number 18 and the view at number 32 are beautiful. The path through the forest is shady and pleasant. The entire viewing angle could be 90 °. Many of the inscriptions are lost. "

Later owners and developments

Park and house in the early 19th century when the property was owned by Charles Hamilton.

In 1789 Edward Horne sold the property to Major Francis Halliday , who had the house and park significantly expanded. He let the stone portico at the entrance of the house and attach a Folly - hermitage built in the timber forest with "stained glass windows, blast furnace slag , cow bones, horse teeth, etc." was decorated. (This didn't match Shenstone's park design.)

Halliday died in 1794 at the age of 45. Edward Butler Hartopp bought the property in June 1795 and held it until July 1800. Then it was transferred to Charles Hamilton and, when he went bankrupt in 1807 , it fell into the hands of Matthias Attwood , who, unlike the owners before him, made no effort undertook to obtain Shenstone's park details. In the 1820s, the park property had fallen into a “state of ruin and neglect”.

Park and house (middle right, covered by trees) in April 2008

While not particularly architecturally significant, the house is listed by English Heritage as a Grade I Historic Building to reflect its Shenstone connection and importance in landscaping history. From 1897 to 1907 the Anstey College of Physical Education was housed there. Part of the property was acquired by Halesowen Golf Club in 1906 . The Halesowen Council (later Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council ) bought The Leasowes in 1934 and managed it since then as a public park, with part of the Halesowen Golf Club is leased. The restoration of the 18th-century landscaped garden, neglected since Shenstone's death, began in May 2008 and was completed in January 2009 (a few months ahead of schedule). The restoration comprised the creation of an elongated lake in the disused Lepal Canal , which runs between earth-filled banks 20 meters above the Beaches Pool on the south side of the park.

Individual references and comments

  1. ↑ Halesowen Golf Club website. Retrieved on Jun 29, 2016.
  2. ↑ Leasow - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary . In: Merriam-Webster . Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Leasowe", a common expression in the area, is of Saxon origin and is often found in legal documents. Perhaps it has never before been used so classically as in this case.
  4. ↑ a b c d Jas. Luckcock: The Monthly Magazine: Or, British Register ... . P. 399. 1824. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  5. ^ Thomas Whately: Observations on Modern Gardening . T. Payne. 1770. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  6. ^ Robert Anderson: A Complete Edition of the Poets of Great Britain (volume 9 with: Swift, Thompson, Watts, Hamilton, A. Philips, G. West, Collins, Dyer, Shenstone, Mallet, Akenside, Harte) . Archers, Bell and Bradfute. Pp. 588, 1795. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ In some sources Edward Horne is also referred to as "Mr Home".
  8. ^ John Adams, Charles Francis Adams: The Works of John Adams, Second President of the United States: Autobiography, continued. Diary. Essays and controversial papers of the Revolution . Little, Brown ,. P. 394. 1851. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  9. ^ The Papers of Thomas Jefferson . University of Virginia Press, Rotunda. Pp. 371-372. 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  10. ^ The Leasowes, Halesowen Golf Club . Images of England. Historic England. English Heritage. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  11. ^ LB staff: The Anstey College Archive . Library of Birmingham. March 11, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  12. ^ HGC staff: Halesowen Golf Club: Official website . Halesowen Golf Club. January 15, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  13. ^ Dudley MBC: Restoration Work Underway . Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  14. ↑ BBC staff: Historic Leasowes Park restored . BBC Black Country website. January 15, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  15. ^ Website of the Lapal Vanal Trust. Retrieved June 29, 2016.

Web links

Commons : The Leasowes  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 52 ° 27 '16.5 "  N , 2 ° 1' 48.2"  W.